For All To See
By Pearple Prose
Luna was an artist.
That was what she had always seen herself as, at least. Where her sister would bury herself in books and politics, Luna would immerse herself in the creative flow. She had used every medium in her pursuits: paints, pastels, pencils...
The Night Princess sat on the balcony, gazing upwards with narrowed eyes and furrowed brow. A maze of star maps lay at her feet, creating a haphazard carpet, and her royal vestments sat in a pile in the corner.
Of all the mediums Luna had tried, tested, and eventually mastered, her own night sky was her favourite; her other works almost never saw the light of day, bar the odd exception that would pop up in a gallery under the name “Selena”.
The sky, however, was for all to see. Poets had waxed over the moon and its companions; sailors relied on the simply subtle constellations to navigate at sea; and there were even some ponies who just watched it, examined it, explained it.
Yes, Luna was very proud of her glorious night, for all these reasons and more.
Except for times like tonight.
“Gah! A curse on thee, foul bear!” She cursed. Very quietly. Speaking any louder would ruin the surprise, and she couldn’t allow that, oh no no.
She gave the aforementioned constellation a withering glare , then she herself withered with a sigh. “I suppose I could move you, just a little...” It was a dilemma, Luna knew; the main constellations shouldn’t really be altered too much, but Luna could and would make an exception this time.
This was all for her, after all, if she could just get it right for once. She took a moment to gaze longingly back inside the room; specifically, at the bed and the small form curled up in it. The occasional little snore put a goofy grin on Luna’s face.
Just hold on, Luna thought, and this will all be worth it.
Luna glanced at the star maps, then back at the night sky. She had been working for well over an hour now, and all she had to show for it is an ugly starless void in the centre of her canvas. She had had to move several constellations already, conjuring a pitiful excuse for each one, just so she could have some space to work.
“Hmm.” Luna raised a hoof to her chin, stroking it with deliberation. “Maybe I could try a different tactic...” Her horn flickered a deep blue, and stars hesitantly popped into existence, then began to arrange themselves into a blob that vaguely resembled silhouette. Before it could begin to take its shape, Luna waved her horn with a frustrated sigh, erasing the motes of light. “No, no, no! Too vague, ugly, stupid stupid stupid...” Luna muttered to herself.
She went back to perusing the assorted charts at her hooves, sifting through potential ideas with a franticness bordering on desperation. Then, she stopped.
“What am I doing?” Luna sighed. “If there any secrets hidden in these diagrams, then they elude me. How did I do it back then...?” She closed her eyes and sifted through the centuries.
A long, long time ago, the younger Sister would change the sky every night, creating and unmaking patterns as she saw fit. Everything and everyone were her inspirations; every night, the sky would hold new secrets for those who had the time and eye to find them.
Sadly, very few ponies did, it had seemed. Or Luna had hoped, for the alternative was an altogether more saddening prospect.
Eventually, her enthusiasm settled into a mature perfectionism. She created the constellations as ponies know them today, spending nights-upon-nights getting them right. Some were legendary beasts, most were purely symbolic.
But occasionally, there were ponies of such importance that they would live on in Luna’s stars, from now until the end.
Luna caught herself gazing, more than a little bit whimsically, at a very familiar swirl of stars, sitting between his friends the Huntress and Lupus Major. That had been tragic, but she had also spent over a thousand years appreciating the irony.
“Eureka!” Luna suddenly shouted, then shoved a royal hoof in her mouth. Her ears stood at attention, swivelling towards the darkened room behind her. There was the tiniest squeak, a sound that sent tingling terror down Luna’s spine.
After five minutes of unresponsiveness, Luna remembered to breathe again. She let it out with a sigh, then got back to work.
The Princess focused on the starless void, and conjured an image in her mind. Star blinked into existence once again. They and countless other stray lights converged in the centre, arranging themselves into formation, matching the image in Luna’s head.
The motes of light formed a vague circle, then became a more angular polygonal shape. Luna’s tongue hung out the side of her mouth as she concentrated, imagining that symbol of her.
As the constellation formed six prongs, Luna conjured more pieces and formed another one, similar to the first. After what seemed like ten-twenty minutes of deep focus, Luna superimposed the larger first shape over the smaller second one, then sat back and admired her handiwork.
Far, far above Equestria, a huge six-pronged star hung, formed from countless millions of tiny motes of light. Around it, there were five shining clusters of white light.
Luna stared at it.
It looks wrong, the mare in the moon sneered.
Far, far too much. She is not extravagant, like this monstrosity of a mark. She is humble, kind, adorable, beautiful in that way you could never be.
It is tacky, obnoxious, loud, and useless. So bright that it outshines the rest, yet it still looks ugly and obsessive.
Useless.
You can’t even make a fitting gift for her, it mocked, the one who saved Equestria from you, and you from yourself.
“Begone!” Luna yelled, feeling tears dripping down her muzzle. She wiped at her eyes, to no avail. “I am rid of you, temptress!”
Stupid, silly Luna. It grinned that grin again. You will never be rid of me. I am just as much you as you are me.
“...Please. Please, just leave us alone... I’m happy. We’re happy. Just leave us be...” Luna sobbed, eyes squeezed shut so she didn’t have to look and see It.
It laughed again. Oh, isn’t it obvious? It glared at her, eyes wide with madness. She loathes you.
“Luna?” A voice cut through the mocking laughter of the Id. Luna eyes snapped open, and she whirled her head around to see her standing right behind her, looking at her sadly.
Luna didn’t need confirmation to know that she had seen everything.
“What are you doing out here?” Twilight Sparkle asked innocently, but Luna could see the gears turning in those tired, beautiful eyes of hers. When Luna didn’t say anything, she started walking out onto the balcony.
Luna, meanwhile, had started to panic. What was she supposed to do? Supposed to say? She had been caught begging and pleading with herself, like some madpony. Not to mention that huge travesty of a gift--
With a sudden bolt of realisation, Luna wiped the star from the sky, but the damage had been done.
“Luna...” Luna gulped. “...Was that...?” Luna looked down at her hooves, up at the sky, across the street, anywhere but at those eyes.
“Y-yes. We-- I, were just-- um...” And with that, the dam burst.
“Oh, just look at us! Pathetic! Useless! Stark raving mad!” Luna knew she sounded demented right then, but she didn’t care. “How can you even bear to be near us?! I can’t even give you a gift worthy of your--” Before she could react, Twilight kissed her.
In that moment of euphoria, Luna’s doubts and fears were cast aside. She blinked once, twice, before closing her eyes and revelling in the kiss. She moaned, opened her mouth, and their tongues danced together.
It was awkward and stumbling, the kiss of one who had never kissed and one who hadn’t in over a thousand years. Despite this, Luna thought it was quite possibly one of the best moments of her long, long life.
Eventually, grudgingly, Twilight pulled back. She smiled shyly. “You’ve been alone for too long, haven’t you?” She sighed playfully as Luna nodded mutely. “Never say anything like that again, Luna, or I’ll have to give you...” Twilight pulled a quill from behind her back. “... the feather.”
Luna gulped. As her marefriend had discovered by chance one night, Luna was incredibly ticklish. As Twilight headed back to bed, Luna got up to follow her.
At the last second, however, she turned back to look at the moon. The face of her nightmare didn’t appear again.
She closed her eyes once more, focused on her, and what she represented.
And a bright, burning, lavender star popped into existence beside the moon.
The moon and her muse hung in the sky, for all to see.
